The Forgotten
by summerthyme
Summary: Percy Weasley feels forgotten on CHristmas. Coincidently, so does Ginny. Simple gifts help them realize how glad they are to be family.


A/N: A late Christmas present. Percy and Ginny realize how much they mean to each other. In the   
purely bro/sis way, that is. No incest for me, thank you.  
  
Disclaimer: the Weasleys and Harry Potter belong to JK Rowling and Warner Brothers.   
  
  
Percy looked out his window, and sighed. Snowflakes gently floated through the air, falling and   
adding to the purity of the layer already coating the ground. He had his window open, and seemed  
to enjoy the blasts of chill air that embraced his face. His parents, had they been aware, would  
have scolded him for wasting heat. Despite the fact that he was an adult, he was in their house,  
and would obey them.  
  
Percy fervently wished he were at his home. He had bought a flat in London about six months ago,  
and had been living there ever since. Every morning he would get up, go to work, come home, do   
more work, and go to bed. He would do the same thing the next day, and the day after that. He   
enjoyed this routine, as it gave a structure and sense of stability to his otherwise chaotic life  
.   
  
It had nearly killed him to take a week off for Christmas. He had planned on spending it at his   
home, alone, but his Mum insisted differently. 'Don't stay by yourself,' she had said. 'Christmas  
is a time for family! Come and stay a few days with us.'  
  
So he had agreed, hiding his reluctance so as not to hurt her feelings. But that request was why   
he was here, in his old room, silently staring out the window, and mourning the holiday season.   
  
He hated Christmas. It was a holiday that emphasized the so-called 'family unit', the importance   
of togetherness. Percy had no special bonds with anyone, even within his own family. Lord knows   
he tried to form strong relationships. He wanted someone to wonder where he was on Christmas,   
and get him something special, not whatever was randomly thrown in the cart. But nobody did. He   
was "The Wet Blanket" of the family, the spoilsport. Just because he was responsible, and worked   
hard, they made fun of him. They didn't hate him, but they didn't go out of his way to love him.   
He was s stranger within his own family.   
  
He sighed again, and closed his window. Turning back to his bed, he hastily pushed aside a pile   
of torn wrapping paper, and sat down. His family had no idea of his true identity, which was   
evident by the gifts. They had no idea what to get him. From Mum and Dad, he had received a new   
robe and socks. From Bill, a book. From Charlie, a book. From Fred and George, a set of quills.   
At least that was something he could use. From Ron, he had received a book. What winning gifts.   
But that was all they viewed him as, the Work-o-Holic Bookworm.   
  
Getting ready to throw his trash away, he noticed a box he had overlooked. Flipping over the   
tag, he read:  
Merry Christmas Percy  
I know you will appreciate this. I saw you eyeing it  
when we were at Diagon Alley.  
Love, Ginny  
  
Ginny. He had forgotten about opening her gift. He thought back, and tried to remember when he   
was with   
someone at Diagon Alley. He was there when Ron, the twins, and Ginny were getting Hogwarts   
supplies, but that was months ago. Had she remembered that long? And what was he "eyeing"?  
  
Carefully tearing off the paper, he exposed a wooden box. Written on it in black script was   
'Renaer Watercolors'. He gasped in surprise. He didn't think anyone knew of his passion. He was   
a painter at heart, and his flat was evidence of that. Littered in the average mess of a   
Bachelor was various empty paint tubes, piles of canvas, and brushes. He indeed was wistfully   
looking at this set, but it proved to be too expensive at the time. How had Ginny been able to   
afford it?  
  
He remembered her working as a waitress at The Leaky Cauldron over the summer. She had made a   
lot, but he hadn't expected her to spend any of it on him. He thought she had spent it all on   
new dress robes, and presents for the rest of the family. Apparently he was wrong. He smiled as  
he thought of what he got her. He hoped she would love it as much as he loved her gift from her.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Ginny sighed. It was Christmas Day. A glorious, supposedly peaceful and joyous Christmas Day.  
Families were supposed to be together, sharing presents, delighting in each other's company.   
  
So why did she feel so miserable?  
  
It was the fourteenth Christmas in her lifetime. Fourteen days that all seemed to slowly   
diminish in quality year after year. She remembered how grand the holiday seemed when she was   
little. The excitement of racing down the stairs and tearing into what seemed to be a mountain   
of presents. Yes, they had been mountains then, but over the years their relatives had slowly   
dropped the task of giving gifts to nine people, and so now only her brothers and parents were   
left.  
  
It wasn't that Ginny was a belongings-hungry material girl. She just liked the feeling of   
knowing she had been remembered. She liked reassurance that she had not been forgotten. That's   
often what she felt like; The Forgotten Weasley.  
  
She put on a fake smile, a façade for her family, so they would not suspect er discontent. She   
wouldn't want to be responsible for ruining her family's holiday.   
  
It worked. Had they been paying more attention, they would have noticed how stiffly she accepted   
her last gift, or how she violently blinked back the tears that were threatening to fall,   
adding a misty look to her brown eyes.  
  
She looked down at the gift she held in her hand, and immediately noticed something different   
about it. All her others had been hastily shoved into wrapping paper or bags, with a few pieces   
of tape hanging lackadaisically off the sides. This one was wrapped carefully, with almost   
streamline perfection on the creases, and a bow wrapped carefully on the top. She peeled back   
the paper carefully, revealing a simple wooden chest. On the top were the initials G A W in   
black writing. Ginny Anne Weasley. She smiled, and opened it carefully. It held a small   
leather-bound book, a bottle of color-changing ink, and a piece of parchment with something   
written on it. She picked up the note, and her smile widened as she read it.  
  
Dear Ginny,  
I thought this gift would be to your liking.  
Keep dreaming, or the world will seem as  
harsh as it really is. If you stop you imagination,  
you will have truly become an adult, and that   
would be a waste of a wonderful person.  
Your loving brother,  
Percy  
  
She grinned at the cryptic writing. It was just so - so... so Percy, that it was comforting. A   
journal was exactly what she wanted. She didn't ask for it though, because her Mum would demand   
to know what she needed to let out that she couldn't tell to her mother.   
  
She looked around the room. Where was Percy? She supposed he had crept down to get his present,   
then slipped back up to his room without notice. It didn't surprise her, he never was one to   
spend time with his family.   
  
But actually, she realized the truth of the situation. His family was never one to spend time   
with him.It seemed she wasn;t the only 'Forgotten Weasley'.  
  
Looking around again, she saw her Mum and Dad, Bill and Charlie, Fred and George, and Ron and   
Harry and Hermione. All were interested in talking only to each other. They had no notice to   
pay to their sister or missing brother.  
  
Ginny got up, carrying Percy's present with her. Creeping up the stairs, she stopped at a door   
on the second landing. A wooden plaque read "Percy's Room" in fading navy blue letters. She   
knocked, then let herself in without waiting for an answer.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Percy looked up as someone entered his room.   
  
"Ginny?" he asked, surprised. "Why aren't you down stairs with everyone else?"  
  
She sat down next to him, a sisterly smile on her lips. "I just realized where I'd rather be."   
  
This remark was received by a wide grin from Percy. "Thank you for the watercolors."  
  
"You're welcome. How did you know about the journal?"  
  
He smiled again. "I'm not your brother for nothing. Merry Christmas Ginny."  
  
"Merry Christmas Percy."   
  
They enveloped each other in a warm embrace, finally enjoying the holiday. When they pulled   
apart, Percy said "Next Christmas at my flat?"  
  
Ginny grinned, the widest she had all break. "Definitely." 


End file.
